Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at the launch of PM-KISAN scheme and other initiatives in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan!
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan!
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan!
All the dignitaries present on stage and my dear farmer brothers and sisters who have gathered here in Gorakhpur and also other farmer brothers and sisters who have joined us through technology, I would like to greet all of you from the bottom of my heart.
You will be pleased to know that lakh of farmers have connected today to this event at Gorakhpur through the Common Service Centres of two lakh villages of India.
Friends,
Several times I have got the opportunity to be with you all here in the land of Baba Gorakhnath. However, this day is going to be inscribed in the pages of history forever. This day is not an ordinary day. Lal Bahadur Shastriji has given us the slogan of 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan'. After the several years, the same mantra is going to reach the fields, houses and pockets of the farmers today.
This is the largest scheme related to farmers since independence and it is starting today from this holy land of Uttar Pradesh with the blessings of crores of farmer brothers and sisters of my country. My double congratulations to the people of Gorakhpur for being the witness to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme.
Brothers and sisters,
Projects worth approximately Rs.10 thousand crores that are related to the development of Gorakhpur and Purvanchal have either been dedicated or their foundation stones have been laid today. Rs.10 thousand crores worth projects related to health, roads, railways, employment, gas etc to make the lives of the people better. I congratulate the entire Purvanchal including Gorakhpur for the same.
Brothers and sisters,
I congratulate crores of farmer families throughout the country on this auspicious occasion of the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. Besides, I also congratulate the animal rearers brothers and sisters and fishermen brothers and sisters for getting the benefits of Kisan Credit cards.
Friends,
The previous governments had done a lot of lip service and framed schemes only on papers but their intention was not to empower the farmers but to constantly tantalize them for their every little need. That's why they were never able to take the right decision for the farmers.
Brothers and sisters,
In order to change this situation, you all in 2014 had given the opportunity to the BJP led NDA government to form government. Focusing on all the little issues that farmers face, we have also worked towards eliminating their challenges completely. We had started with the goal of empowering the farmers completely. Our government is honestly trying to provide every means and resources to the farmers so that they are able to double their income by 2022.
Friends,
In order to strengthen our efforts of the last four and a half years to help the farmers, today I want to dedicate the PM Kisan Nidhi to crores of farmers from this sacred land of Uttar Pradesh. A few minutes ago, I got this opportunity to transfer the first installment under this scheme to the bank accounts of 1 crore 1 lakh farmers of the country that you all welcomed with a thunder of applause!
I was told that it included the farmers of 21 states and Union Territories. Rs. 2021 crores have been transferred to these farmers directly. Rest of the farmers too will receive the first installment of Rs.2000 in the next few weeks and this first installment of Rs.2000 will be deposited into the bank accounts of nearly 12 crore farmers.
Brothers and sisters,
Let me tell you that this is just the beginning. Under this scheme, every year, Rs.75 thousand crores will be directly deposited in the accounts of the farmers. Those 12 crore farmers within the country who have 5 Acres or less land will get the direct benefit of this scheme. Now the farmers would not have to worry about their farm-related needs such as purchasing seeds, fertilizer, pesticides or make electricity bill payment.
You can do all your work with the Rs.6000 that the central government will transfer into your bank accounts every year. For this purpose, the first installment of Rs.2000 has been credited into the bank accounts of several farmers today. A few of these farmers have also been given certificates. I want to reiterate that those farmers who have not received the amount will soon get the first installment in a few weeks.
Brothers and sisters,
Every penny under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme will be given by Modi's government at the centre. The state governments are not required to do anything. They just have to honestly make a correct list of the farmers in their states and have to immediately send that list to us. I would like to congratulate the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand for prioritizing this work but there are a few state governments who have not woken up from their slumber. They think that they can play politics on this.
I am warning these state governments. If they didn't send the list of the farmers on time and the farmers remained deprived of the benefits, then the curse of these farmers will destroy your politics. You might be the government of opposition party but farmers belong to our country. Kindly don't play politics with them.
I want to tell you one more thing that don't give in to the rumors around this scheme. When our opposition, the 'Mahamilavati' group heard about this scheme in the Parliament, you must have seen, how unhappy and heart-broken they were. They felt that all the farmers would now raise the 'Modi-Modi' slogan. So now they are spreading lies and rumors. I think this is in their nature by birth. Now kindly listen to the rumors that have started. Modi will give you the three installments of Rs.2000 but will take it back by the end of the year.
My dear farmer brothers and sisters,
The money that is being given to you is your right. No one can ever take it away from you. Neither Modi nor any state government can take it away from you.
Therefore, give a befitting reply to such creators of rumors.
My dear farmer brothers and sisters,
When there is a government at the centre that thinks of the welfare of the farmers, only then such schemes are possible and implemented on ground. Only then, even the impossible is made possible. Now whatever I am going to say, you must understand that and convey it to every other village and farmer. You should try to make them understand the truth. Will you give a befitting reply to those spreading lies? Sure? Let me explain. Before elections, these people from Congress, SP, BSP, the entire 'Mahamilavati' group think about the farmers. They think about them once in ten years. Then they start promising loan waivers and give out doles. They have learnt the trick of bluffing the farmers and garnering votes. But they didn't know that their fight would be against Modi, will expose them and Modi would show what true service to the farmers is. Therefore, you can see those pulling long faces in the Parliament. And we didn't make this announcement merely to fulfill our poll promise. We announced it in the Parliament that too after allocating funds for the scheme in the Budget. This is our honesty.
Just try to recall that in the year 2008, there was a debt of Rs.6 lakh crores on the farmers. According to the official figures and bank data, the entire debt of all the farmers of the country was Rs.6 lakh crores. Say loudly - How much? Rs.6 lakh crores! They had announced loan waivers before the elections. Rs.6 lakh crores should have been waived off. Elections took place in 2009. They were again in power. Do you know what happened after that? No one knows about it. Everyone is in the dark. Their followers were also silent. They had to waive Rs.6 lakh crores but only Rs. 52 thousand crores was waived. Remember the figure. You tell me, would the farmers ever believe in such liars? Would they punish such liars or not? And brothers and sisters, this Rs.52 thousand crores was waived once in ten years and tall promises were made before the elections. The list that they had made included only their 'sipahsalars'. It didn't include all the farmers. The Rs.52 thousand crores was distributed only among 2-3 crore farmers out of the 12-13 crore farmers. Among them too, there were some 35 lakh people who had no connection to farming. Just see! Such a huge scam! Will you forgive such people?
Brothers and sisters,
Under our scheme, Rs. 75 thousand crores will be deposited into the bank accounts of the farmers every year, not just once but thrice in a year. They gave Rs. 52 thousand crores in 10 years while we will give Rs. 7.5 lakh crore in 10 years. Rs.7.5 lakh crores! There will be no middlemen and there will not be any discrimination based on caste or religion. Money will be deposited into the bank account of any farmer with 5 Acres or less land.
Brothers and sisters,
Their scheme was a once-in-a-ten-year kind of a scheme for garnering votes. That scheme was to bluff the farmers. If there are 100 farmers in a village only 20 or 22 or 25 farmers had benefitted from that scheme. Our scheme is such that the benefits will be provided every year to 12 crore farmers of the country. If there are 100 farmers in a village, 90 will get the benefit. Just imagine! The Modi government is doing such a great investment for the rural infrastructure by directly giving the funds to the farmers. You can estimate that.
Friends,
The decision of loan waiver was also an easy option for us. We could also dole out to the farmers before the elections but Modi never commits such a sin. He can never think of committing such a sin.
Just give it a thought! Our government under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana is spending about Rs.1 lakh crores. We are using such a big amount so that the projects that were in a limbo for 30 to 40 years are completed.
Out of 99 incomplete projects throughout the country, more than 70 are on the verge of completion. Due to these projects, the farmers are getting irrigation benefits for lakhs of hectares of land. This will benefit even the future generations.
Friends,
There was no coercion or arm-twisting to get these irrigation projects completed. Leaving the projects incomplete, it was easy to waive the loans instead. But the truth is, loan waivers helped only a few rich farmers and the Congress followers. My poor farmers are not benefitted. It benefitted only those farmers who had already taken loans from some bank. Who had thought about the crores of farmer families that took loans from others instead of banks? And there are not lakhs but crores of such farmers.
My farmer brothers and sisters,
This is New India. Whenever the central government spends money to the poor or the farmer, the entire amount gets deposited into their bank accounts. Gone are those days when Re.1 used to be given out from the government's treasury but only 15 paisa reached the beneficiary. Someone in between used to snatch away the 85 paisa.
The PM Kisan Samman Nidhi has also been made full proof so that no one can take away the right of farmer brothers and sisters. There is no place for any kind of intermediary in this scheme. If you do not have an Aadhaar number you can apply. Its registration number will be enough for you. By the way, Jan Dhan Bank accounts have been created for everyone, but if anybody does not have an account in the bank till now then they will have to open the account because the money will go directly to the bank account. I will not let a single penny of the money to go in the hands of middlemen.
Friends,
Kindly make the villages understand another thing. This is the honest path. First, the list of names of all the beneficiaries will be presented before the Gram Panchayats and then it will be uploaded online on the PM Kisan portal. There is complete transparency. If you feel that you are a beneficiary of this scheme but your name is not on the list, then you contact your block or the district administration.
Brothers and sisters,
Our government is placing a new system from the seeds to the market with a new approach. The government is turning the impossible into possible. During the last four and a half years, more than 17 crore Soil Health cards have been distributed in two phases by the government. We have stopped the misuse and stealing of urea by the decision of using 100% Neem coating of urea. We have encouraged research for good quality seeds.
Friends,
Several efforts have been made to not only reduce the cost of farming but also to ensure that the farmers receive the right price for their crops. It is our government which fulfilled the age-old demand of the farmers on MSP. The Minimum Support Price of 22 Rabi and Kharif crops has been fixed to more than one and a half times the original price.
And brothers and sisters,
Those who are shedding crocodile tears for the farmers had been sitting over the MSP file since 2007. If they had taken the decision in 2007, today the farmers of my country wouldn't have been indebted. They have committed a sin. They have cheated. They have destroyed the farmers of my country.
Brothers and sisters,
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bina Yojana has been created to save the farmers from the atrocities of the natural calamities. Brothers and sisters, several efforts are being made to reduce their farming cost and to ensure that the farmers get right price for their crops. Several Mandis of the country are being connected with the eNAM platform. With this, the farmers will have an option to directly sell their produce to any Mandi online in any part of the country. With this, no middleman would be able to alter the prices. There will be an extension of this medium in the next two years.
Friends,
Besides the traditional farming methods, the government is also encouraging other alternatives so as to help the farmers to double their incomes. We are pushing the farmers towards several new fields like apiculture, organic farming, sericulture, solar farming etc. Besides we are also making relentless efforts towards animal husbandry and pisciculture.
Brothers and sisters,
Taking loans from banks has been made easier to help expand agriculture as well as other occupations. As a result, more than Rs.11 lakh crores were given to the farmers as agricultural loans last year.
Friends,
Another major decision has been taken in order to ensure easy loans for farmer brothers and sisters. Earlier, loans of only up to Rs.1 lakh were given to farmers without guarantee through Kisan Credit cards. This upper limit has been increased. Now my farmer brothers can take a loan of Rs.1 lakh 60 thousand without guarantee instead of just Rs.1 lakh.
From today onwards, the facility of Kisan Credit cards has also been started for our milk producers and fishermen. Those who don't have Kisan Credit cards will be handed over the same with a limit of Rs.2 lakh separately for animal husbandry and fisheries. With that, the availability of funds will increase in both the sectors and our animal herders and fishermen brothers and sisters will not have to depend upon others for loans. In order to pay attention to every aspect of pisciculture, the government has also decided to set up a separate department in this budget.
India became independent but there was no separate ministry for the tribal people. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji had set up a separate ministry for the tribal people. After independence, there was no separate ministry for Northeast development. Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji had created a separate ministry for Northeast development. Once again after the BJP government has come to power, decision has been taken to form a separate ministry for the development of our fishermen brothers and sisters who live on the banks of rivers and shores of the seas so that a special attention is provided to them.
Friends,
Besides, the relaxation on farm loans have been increased from 1 year to 3-5years after a natural disaster strikes. After a natural calamity, the farmer will not have to go to anyone for loans. They will be given time to repay the loans in that time. If they are consistently repaying, there will be a concession of 3% on the interest rate.
Brothers and sisters,
The animal rearers and the milk producers of Gorakhpur and Purvanchal should be even happier today because the dairy with a capacity of 1 lakh liters per day has been dedicated today. About 50 thousand milk producers will be benefitted from this directly and will also open up thousands of opportunities for employment.
Brothers and sisters,
There is another good news for the animal rearers. Our government had started Rashtriya Gokul Mission last year to promote indigenous cows and buffaloes for the first time. Expanding the same, we have decided to set up Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog this year. This commission will review the laws and policies related to cattle wealth and suggest ways to increase the production of milk. One important task of this commission is the welfare of Mother cow and to ensure that there are shelters for cows throughout the country as well as to solve their issues.
Friends,
Farmer brothers and sisters from every corner of the country! I am going to tell you about another major scheme. You can make an estimate of how this is going to serve you. We have brought a new scheme named Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Abhiyan. We have approved it this week itself. Under this scheme, the farmers will get more than 17 lakh solar pumps. They will get rid of the expenses on electricity for irrigation.
Besides, aid will be provided to the farmers to connect 10 lakh solar pumps to the electricity grid so that they can not only irrigate for free but also sell surplus electricity to the government. My farmer will earn by selling electricity too. Similarly, there also exists a scheme for setting up solar plant of 500 Kilowatts to 2 Megawatts capacity on the barren land of the farmers. This is a massive campaign to turn the food-growers into energy-producers. My farmer is food producer but now he will also become energy producer.
Friends,
Our government is committed to increasing the income of the tribal brothers and sisters. For the welfare of the tribal brothers and sisters, the Van Dhan Yojana has been started to ensure that they get better price for their forest produce. Hence, Van Dhan Kendra's are being set up. The MSP on forest produce given by the government has been increased thrice during the last four and a half years. The MSP of 23 crops was raised in December only. Moreover, the number of crops under the MSP has also been increased by the government. About four - four and a half years ago, only ten forest produce came under the provision of MSP. That number has been raised to about 50 for tribal farmers.
My dear brothers and sisters
The government has made major changes in laws related to bamboo for forest dwellers. Now you can grow bamboo even in your fields and increase your income by selling it. It was earlier not possible because bamboo was categorized under trees. Besides, we are also working to ensure that you not only are able to grow bamboo but also find a huge market place for selling bamboos.
Friends,
The government is paying attention to the needs of the villages and farmers besides agriculture. The work on the fertilizer factory is underway in Gorakhpur. This factory will once again be the identity of this city. With this, the farmers will get adequate urea and their cost of cultivation will reduce.
Brothers and sisters,
This entire Purvanchal region is undergoing a period of unprecedented Change. Change can be seen everywhere, in industries, businesses, connectivity or healthcare services. There has been a tremendous progress in the field of healthcare. As per one report, lives of more number of children suffering from encephalitis could be saved than last year.
Friends,
Several Projects have been either dedicated or their foundation stones have been laid here today to boost the healthcare facilities in Purvanchal. A 200-bed super-specialty hospital has been started today at Baba Raghav Das Medical College. The OPD building of Gorakhpur AIIMS is also now ready for service. The treatment and examination of the patients will begin here from today.
Friends,
Purvanchal is turning into a major hub of facilities, industries and employment for the Eastern India and Purvanchal. Keeping this in mind, connectivity is being modernized further. The Gorakhpur Cant., Kaptanganj and Balmiki Nagar sections have been electrified. Therefore, now trains can run on electricity in this section which will not only save time but will also reduce pollution. In such a scenario wherein Indian Railways is moving towards complete electrification, electric engines can be manufactured. There is a electric loco shed here. This will generate direct employment opportunities and supportive enterprises will also come up along with it.
Friends,
Our government is also trying to develop clean energy and gas-based economy in Purvanchal including Gorakhpur. Even before the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana had started, the people here are getting benefitted out of the projects related to the fertilizer factories and gas pipeline connections in the houses. Today the foundation stone of another gas-based project worth Rs.9000 crores has been laid.
Brothers and Sisters
All these schemes and projects are living examples of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'. During the last four and a half years, the central government following this basic mantra has unleashed a new stream of development and public welfare. The identification of the beneficiaries of myriad schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya Yojana, Ayushman Yojana, has been conducted in a scientific way.
Every caste, class and community is certainly going to benefit from our schemes. Now the practice of inclusion and exclusion of names based on someone's recommendation has been stopped. In addition, with the help of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar, mobile phones and modern technology, fraudulent practices and the system of middlemen have been removed. Consequently, various surveys within the country and around the world are stating that India is coming out of poverty at a rapid pace.
Friends,
How are these things becoming possible? What is the reason? Modi is not the reason. The reason lies in you my brothers and sisters! You, the countrymen, the people of Uttar Pradesh, who in 2014 had given a mandate to form a strong government. This is the reason why we could fight against major corrupt people for the welfare of the poor because you have given your mandate that in turn boosted me. I hope this power remains intact and your blessings remain upon me. With this expectation, I congratulate and salute my farmer brothers and sisters for this crucial scheme. With the hope that the 12 crore farmers receive the benefits of Kisan Samman Nidhi as soon as possible and every year, I thank you all.
With your fists up in the air, say along with me-
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Bharat Mata ki Jai!
Thanks a lot!